max-jobs-per-action

Rule catalog ID: R011

Targeted pattern scope

GitHub Actions workflow YAML files that declare multiple jobs.

What this rule reports

This rule reports workflows whose number of jobs exceeds the configured limit.

Why this rule exists

Large workflow files become difficult to review, reason about, and evolve safely. Setting an upper bound nudges teams toward splitting unrelated concerns into smaller workflows.

❌ Incorrect

jobs:
  one:
    name: One
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  two:
    name: Two
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  three:
    name: Three
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  four:
    name: Four
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

✅ Correct

jobs:
  lint:
    name: Lint
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  test:
    name: Test
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
  build:
    name: Build
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest

Additional examples

For larger repositories, this rule is often enabled together with one of the published presets so violations are caught in pull requests before workflow changes are merged.

ESLint flat config example

import githubActions from "eslint-plugin-github-actions-2";

export default [
  {
    files: ["**/*.{yml,yaml}"],
    plugins: {
      "github-actions": githubActions,
    },
    rules: {
      "github-actions/max-jobs-per-action": "error",
    },
  },
];

When not to use it

You can disable this rule when its policy does not match your repository standards, or when equivalent enforcement is already handled by another policy tool.

Targeted pattern scope​

What this rule reports​

Why this rule exists​

❌ Incorrect​

✅ Correct​

Additional examples​

ESLint flat config example​

When not to use it​

Further reading​